updated Millennium edition was published in 2000 and went through 12 printings. Helminiak is a Roman Catholic priest who has ministered to several gay communities. Like other clergy who have intimate relationships with the gay community, his biblical interpretations dispute the traditional, literal interpretations that have been used to oppress the LGBT community. His book is largely a scripture-by-scripture commentary that dismantles the interpretations that claim all homosexual practice is sinful.
John Boswell provided the initial in-depth, historical analysis of homosexuality and social intolerance in Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality, published in 1980. In 1994, which is the year he died, his second book on gay marriage, Same Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, was published. Boswell was a professor of history at Yale University and an accomplished linguist; he was raised Episcopalian but converted to Roman Catholic at the age of 16. For his historic analysis he translated many ancient texts, poems, narratives, laws, philosophies, and the like, to try to understand the swinging pendulum of cultural practice and tolerance of homosexuality. He covered the chronological era from the beginning of the Western Christianity to the 14th century. Although attitudes swung by extremes over the centuries, in many historical eras, including early Christendom, the practice of homosexuality was not a religious, moral issue but a cultural issue. There was no recognition of gay orientation, and people of diverse backgrounds practiced both gay and straight sex. Many early rulers such as Emperor Hadrian had homosexual relationships. Boswell’s analyses9 of the scriptures and early church were an opening salvo against the contemporary, non-analytical acceptance of the status quo condemnation of the LGBT community. His scholarship is impeccable though, being the first to tackle this issue head on, his work has endured much criticism. Boswell died of AIDS at the age of 47, and I suspect that he was gay. Perhaps his personal experience informed his analysis.
The Rev. Dr. L. William Countryman is an Episcopal priest and, most recently, Sherman E. Johnson Professor in Biblical Studies at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Berkeley, CA (now retired). He has written extensively on a number of theological, biblical, and Christian ethical subjects. Along with Boswell, Countryman took up the mantle of LGBT apologetics before it was popular to do so. His book Dirt, Greed, & Sex, published in 1988, was updated in 2007.10 His work on homosexuality was motivated by a request for a series of lectures on the subject. He is responsible for pointing out the difference between “purity” and ethical or moral issues in the First Testament, particularly in Leviticus. He considers the purity issues more contextual to the time period and hence, less binding on contemporary society. Countryman is gay and married to Jon Vieira.
Mark Allan Powell is the Robert and Phyllis Leatherman Professor of New Testament at Trinity Lutheran Seminary. He is editor of the HarperCollins Bible Dictionary and author of more than 100 articles and 25 books on the Bible and religion, including a widely used textbook, Introducing the New Testament. He is probably the most prolific scholar within my selection of sources. Powell has written a chapter in a quasi-official book written by a series of distinguished authors in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), Faithful Conversations, edited by James M. Childs.
In a somewhat surprising treatise by one of the leading Pauline scholars in the world, Victor Paul Furnish takes on the subject of homosexuality in the overall context of the moral teachings of Paul.11 Furnish’s view is surprising because he does not tell of any significant experience in relationships with gay persons; his entire book is about understanding the moral teachings of Paul. Furnish discusses divorce, sex, and marriage, and presents an entire chapter on homosexuality.12 He points out the textual difficulties in making homosexuality practice a black and white issue. Dr. Furnish is University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University.
K. Renato Lings has recently published Love Lost in Translation, a 641 page tome made up of the most detailed literary and linguistic analysis of the clobber scriptures. Lings (according to book cover) and website holds degrees in Spanish, Translation Studies, and Theology. In addition to studying Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Nahuatl (Aztec), he has written and taught extensively on biblical interpretation, translation, and issues relating to gender and sexuality. Missing from his introduction is his motivation for writing on this subject. His writing appears to betray only an academic interest in accurate translation and sexuality as expressed in the Bible. Although the book itself is very detailed in translation of Hebrew and Greek, it is a very readable and interesting book.
One of the more recent works is a very comprehensive, yet readable, book my Matthew Vines. Matthew is a young conservative, gay Christian with a high view of scripture. Vines is a well known advocate for affirming gay sexual relationship and supports gay marriage. He has a blog site and founded the advocacy group The Reformation Project.13 He started his public work with a YouTube video on March 10, 2012, that went viral. He has posted other speeches on YouTube, and he is quoted by various mainstream media. He is a sought after speaker by various progressive Christian groups. Not only is his scholarship first-class, he folds his own Christian journey into his book. His book and advocacy are game changers. However, because of his very public profile and advocacy, Vines and his work have received a lot of criticism; much of it is negative. Although he does not have the academic credentials of some of his critics, his book utilizes resources admirably.
Who is doing the teaching today? Arguing that homosexuality is a sin
Besides the standard commentaries that address the scriptures that reportedly proscribe homosexuality, there are those works that disagree with taking a positive stance towards homosexuality, including a magnificent piece of work published by Richard B. Hays in 1996.14 The majority of the book relates the New Testament scriptures to the discernment of moral vision. Hays provides several examples of the interpretation of scripture providing moral direction for various contemporary dilemmas. One of those is the issue of homosexuality, which he discusses in Chapter 16.15 Hays is a highly respected biblical scholar, and the assortment of scholars who have endorsed this book is staggering. He lines up with those traditionalists who consider the practice of homosexuality a sin regardless of the circumstances.
The most prolific, recent voice casting homosexual practice as a sin belongs to Robert A. J. Gagnon.16 Gagnon is an associate professor of New Testament at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and an elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA). He holds a BA from Dartmouth and an MTS from Harvard Divinity School, as well as a PhD from the Princeton Theological Seminary. What Boswell has done for supporting the full inclusion and acceptance of homosexual activity, Gagnon has done for the polar opposite view. His thick and dense book, The Bible and Homosexual Practice, is an academic tour de force that carefully examines the biblical witness while comparing it to literature written in the same era. He elucidates cultural and religious contexts with in-depth translation analyses trying to resolve the current argument over what Paul meant by use of various words in his letter to the Corinthians. He also attempts to discount other exegetes who interpreted the scriptures as neutral and/or supportive of homosexual relationships and activity. Gagnon believes that any and all homosexual activity is a sin. Interestingly, he is more conservative than his own denomination and he is one of the younger authors that I selected.
Why me?
Since so much has been written on homosexuality, why write another tome? Many others have written in support of the LGBT community; some are briefly introduced above. As noted, those who have had a significant relationship(s) with gay friends and/or family tend to be supportive of the LGBT community. When they exegete the scripture that has been used to oppress gays, they interpret them differently from the current negative connotations that are often introduced by words such as, “Well, the Bible says….”
So why am I writing about this subject, and in defense of the LGBT community and homosexual practice? Unlike Hamilton, Helminiak, or Rogers, I have not had an extensive ministry with the gay community. I do not have intimate relationships with any gay people who have come out of the closet. I have not witnessed committed Christian gay couples and their faithful service to the Lord. I was an engineer for about 30 years and lived in a refined bubble devoid of poverty, cultural issues like abortion or homosexuality, economic deprivation, pay-day
